


Sharks Are Proven to be the Best Cure for Anxiety

by blackfin



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Fluff, M/M, straight fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-07 22:44:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11068626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackfin/pseuds/blackfin
Summary: A short drabble about Link having a panic attack and his shark boyfriend helping him through it





	Sharks Are Proven to be the Best Cure for Anxiety

**Author's Note:**

> Written in response to a prompt on tumblr that wanted Sidon helping Link through an anxiety attack  
> This has been cross posted to my tumblr, s-aizo  
> I realize this might not be one hundred percent accurate to an anxiety attack but this has just been my personal experience with that kind of thing  
> Currently accepting commissions, check my tumblr for more details  
> Comments and kudos are high appreciated! Thank you!

It had come on suddenly without any warning and, within a few moments, he was completely at its mercy. 

Standing by the side of a shrine he had just cleared, his fingernails scraping against the hard rock, Link clenched his eyes shut, hot tears burning at the corners, threatening to fall at any moment, and struggled to keep his erratic, desperate breathing under control. Inside his chest, his heart hammered hard against his ribs, as though it was trying to break free of its confines. Even though his eyes were closed, it still felt like the world was spinning violently, pitching him about as though he were on a dingy raft in the middle of a quick moving river during a vicious storm. His legs were shaking so badly that he felt for certain he was going to collapse at any moment. Distantly, he could hear his own ragged breath dragging itself out of his wide open mouth. Bile swirled sickeningly in his stomach, threatening to spew forth if he even so much as twitched. 

Then there was the panic. The monster of irrationality and terror shrieking incoherently inside of his head, it’s fingernails clawing at the corners of his mind as though it were trying to rip his brain to shreds. He wasn’t even really sure what had set it off this time, but at the moment, figuring out the reason wasn’t all that important nor did it really matter that much to him. All he wanted was to calm down, though that in of itself was a momentous task, especially considering his mind could hardly even piece together a complete sentence. 

Digging his fingers into the rough surface of the Shrine’s outer walls, Link fought to keep himself upright but could feel himself losing the battle. Tears were beginning to stream without abandon down his burning face, he felt like was going to vomit at any moment and the panic was growing by the second, amplified by the fact that he was very much aware that he was out in the open, completely vulnerable. A monster could creep up behind him easily. In his current state, he was a sitting duck, easy prey. Thinking that didn’t help him at all but once the beast inside of his head caught wind of that fear, it began raving at the top of his lungs that that was exactly what was going to happen. 

Gasping raspily, he pushed back against the beast, allowing his legs to buckle so he could put the strength he had been using to stay upright and turn it against the screaming in his mind. Over and over again, he tried to repeat that he needed to calm down, nothing was wrong, everything was going to be fine as long as he calmed down but, as usual, his demands fell on deaf ears. It was like shouting at the stone wall he was currently hanging onto. All in all, a completely fruitless, hollow and impossible task. He knew his only option was to wait it out, to let it run his course, vomit up the leftovers and cry out whatever remained. Still, he fought, hoping that this time would be the one time he won over it instead of being fucked over by it, left exhausted and infuriated with himself for being so weak. 

A large, cool hand suddenly rested on the top of his head, earning a loud, startled yelp from him. His legs immediately locked up, freezing him in place. For a split moment, the vibrantly violent image of turning around to find a monster standing over him, weapon raised high over its head, ready to bring it down onto Link in an attempt to extinguish the life from him flashed in front of his eyes. What little breath was in his lungs rushed out in a loud, rattling gust. His body, which had already been shivering, began to shake fiercely. Like a leaf in the wind, he thought distantly, his sputtering mind conjuring up an absurd picture of himself as an actual leaf, attached to a tree. 

“Link, my love, it’s me.” A familiar voice spoke from somewhere above him. “What’s the matter?”

Managing to turn his head just a little ways to the left, Link was blessed with the hazy, teary sight of the lower half of Sidon’s body. Immediately, his disorientated brain began to chant loudly ‘Sidon’s here! Sidon’s here! Sidon’s here!’ in a relieved, ecstatic tone. The panic, however, was not to be outdone - it raised it’s voice even higher, sending high pitched wails echoing throughout his entire body. Shuddering, gasping and coughing, Link struggled to reach out to Sidon. To his relief, the Zora Prince knelt down beside him, one hand still reassuringly on his back, the other reaching forward to take the hand Link was trying to grab hold of him with. 

Pressing tight to his side, Sidon lovingly stroked his large hand up and down the length of Link’s spine, “It’s alright, everything is okay, I’m right here. Breathe, my love. Take it slow and easy. Breathe. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Sidon’s voiced washed over him in a wave of blissful comfort. Squeezing his hand tightly, Link allowed himself to fall sideways, against Sidon’s chest. Strong arms immediately encased him, the Zora Prince’s voice never ceasing in raining gentle whispers of encouragement and love down onto him. The panic still raged but was quickly losing it’s footing. With each new breath he was able to pull in, Sidon’s scent surrounding him, the feeling of his skin against his own and his voice filling his ears, his mind, it’s strength dwindled. Link ignored it’s fading screeches and instead focused both on the rhythm of his breathing and the gentle words coming from his beloved Sidon. With something to put his mind to, something for it to grasp onto like a drowning man grabs hold of anything that could keep him afloat, Link could feel the panic vanishing into the depths of his mind. 

Unsurprisingly, he found himself exhausted, nauseous and a breath away from bursting into sobs. Still breathing a bit raggedly, he weakly scooted back a little from Sidon so he could look up at him. The Zora Prince returned his gaze, his eyes heavy with concern and alarm. Reaching forward, he swiped the pad of his thumb along Link’s cheek, gently brushing away the lingering tears. Leaning down, he pressed a quick, soft kiss against Link’s lips, apparently uncaring of the snot and tears caked on and around them. Pulling back slightly, he looked into Link’s eyes and asked, “What happened, my love?”

Sniffing hard, still feeling woozy and disoriented, Link took a moment to respond. Struggling to get his thoughts together, he could already tell his voice was not going to work. Holding out his shaking hands, he clumsily sighed, “I don’t know. One minutes I was fine, next thing I knew, I was like that. It’s just something that happens.”

“This has happened before?” Sidon asked, his tone startled. 

Link nodded shakily, “From time to time. I just-it-sometimes-I dunno…”

“Why haven’t you told me, Link?” The Zora Prince asked, his voice strained. “Link, you’ve been dealing with this by yourself?”

“It doesn’t happen often.” Which was true, but he still felt guilty for having kept these little episodes secret from Sidon. He was already bothered enough by Link romping around completely alone, with the weight of saving the world on his shoulders. And that was partly the reason he hadn’t informed Sidon - he simply didn’t want to worry him any more. Though, he could already tell that reasoning was not going to fly. 

There was a tense moment of silence, during which the panic still on the edges of his mind began to rear it’s ugly face again, whispering that Sidon was disappointed in him, mad at him, that he had messed up, leading to even more tears to run down Link’s face when suddenly, the Zora Prince sighed, his shoulders dropping before he reached forward and gathered Link up in his arms. 

“It’s alright. I’m not mad, my love. We’ll need to talk about this but not right now. Right now, we’re just going to focus on helping you feel okay. What can I do? Tell me what I can do to help you, please.”

Melting into Sidon’s arms, the last remnants of panic stomped away into oblivion, Link rested his cheek on his broad, muscular shoulder. Warmth, comfort and exhaustion washed over him. Tears flowed freely from his eyes, streaming down his hot cheeks onto Sidon’s skin. Curling his arms lightly around Sidon’s neck, he managed to whisper in a husky, raspy voice, “Just you being here is more than enough.”

Sidon didn’t respond. Instead, he shifted around until his back was to the shrine and leaned against the rocky, craggy wall. Cradling Link in his arms, he began to gently stroke his hair. He felt him lean down, press a warm kiss onto the top of his head. 

“No more secrets, Link.”

Link sleepily shook his head, “I’ll tell you everything.”

Another kiss was placed against the tip of his ear, “I’ll hold you too that. Now, sleep, my love.”

“Stay with me.” Link breathed, feeling his mind already surrendering to slumber, soothed by Sidon’s voice. He understood that it was a silly request - Sidon wouldn’t leave him sleeping out in the open, completely vulnerable but still, he wanted to hear his beloved Zora Prince promise. 

“Of course, nothing could ever make me leave your side.” Sidon cooed lovingly into his ear, his arms tightening around Link, “I love you, Link.”

“I love you too, Sidon. Thank you...for everything.”

“Of course, my love.” The Zora Prince whispered. 

Focusing on the feeling of Sidon gently stroking his hair, Link allowed his eyes to fall closed, his entire mind completely occupied with his beloved Prince Sidon, and quickly fell into a peaceful, quiet slumber.


End file.
